From most of the scouting reports I've seen, Gamble is not the safest pick, but he has the most potential of any of the other corners in the draft. I'm not so sure about that anymore with how impressive Hall has been in his workouts lately. Here are a few great scouting reports on both Hall and Gamble from the Scouts on ESPN.com. Chris Gamble DC | (6'1" , 198, 4.45) | OHIO STATE | COLLEGE STATS By Scouts Inc. Grade: 95 Comments: Loses little speed when turning and running, height to win jump balls downfield. Reads receivers' eyes, locates passes quickly. Outstanding athlete. Agile, explodes out of cuts. Lacks footwork, vulnerable to double moves. Turned around too often, gives up big plays. Doesn't always read keys, bites on playaction fakes, pump fakes. Frequently drops into coverage on running plays. Raw technique, instincts. Must improve route-recognition skills. Explodes out of backpedal, great burst to airborne balls, has second gear to recover from mistakes. Elevates well, has strong hands to make tough catches in traffic, catches passes at apex. Ample experience at receiver and returning punts. Rarely drops passes. Makes big plays under pressure. A threat to score on any interception, punt return. Has the range to stop running plays sideline-to-sideline, takes good angles to ball, chases down some plays from behind. Breaks down, wraps up ballcarrier upon contact, doesn't miss many open-field tackles. Lacks mean streak, isn't powerful tackler. Doesn't always fight to get to ball, gives inconsistent effort. Gamble is one of the most versatile athletes in the 2004 draft. He can play cornerback, wide receiver and return punts. Because he has spent a little bit of time everywhere, he has not mastered any position and is not close to NFL ready at cornerback. Gamble has rare athleticism and speed, but he had a disappointing junior season and was burned often in 2003. Gamble will be one of the top cornerbacks drafted but will not start in 2004. At best, Gamble will contribute as a nickel cornerback and return punts. At worst, he will be limited to special teams while improves his technique and recognition. Either way, Gamble should develop into a solid starting cornerback and punt returner. Deangelo Hall DC | (5'10" , 202, 4.34) | VIRGINIA TECH | COLLEGE STATS By Scouts Inc. Grade: 96 Comments: Tall enough to compete for jumpballs downfield. Fluid hips, can turn and run with receivers, has rare speed. Confident, bounces back from mistakes, comfortable in man coverage. Outstanding agility, good burst out of cuts, can blanket receivers on short, intermediate routes. Better man-to-man, but versatile enough to play zone. Adequate upper-body strength, can jam receivers. Typically gave receivers a cushion in college, lacks experience playing bump-and-run. Relies on natural ability too much, inconsistent footwork. Questionable route-recognition skills. Good instincts, rarely bites on playaction fakes. Can get burned by pump fakes. Virginia Tech's system was a problem -- it had had him playing off receivers and relied on him getting good jumps on underneath routes. Must protect himself better, learn when to gamble. Keeps pads low, explodes out of backpedal, great burst to airborne balls. Second gear when tracking downfield passes, fast enough to recover from mistakes. Has experience at wide receiver, soft hands generally makes play when in position. A playmaker, threat to score after interceptions. Good leaping ability, can catch passes at their apex over his head. Has problems locating ball over his shoulder downfield. Explosive punt returner. Good size for run support, has range to make plays from sideline-to-sideline, in pursuit. Lacks power, doesn't always give great effort against run. Fails to square shoulders to ballcarrier at times, power backs have success running over him. Misses open-field tackles by diving at runner's feet. Can't shed quickly, creates running lanes by avoiding contact instead of taking on blockers. Hall has world-class speed and is among college football's most versatile athletes. Hall is the best man-to-man cover corner in this class, one of its best punt returners and has playmaking skills as a wide receiver. Hall played almost exclusively in man-to-man in college, even against elite receivers such as Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald. Hall is similar to Deion Sanders in skills and arrogance. Hall is abrasive, a big talker, but he has the confidence and skills to back the smack. Hall must improve his technique and footwork, but he has the size to matchup with most NFL receivers and the speed to turn and run with any of them. Of the four elite cornerbacks, Hall is the closest to being NFL ready.
i'm against trading draft picks unless it's the third we just acquired for Drew Henson, this team still has holes to fill and more important depth needs to be added everywhere, thats' where these third round draft choices come in handy. IMO we stand pat and take BPA unless it's QB in which case teams below us should be clamoring to trade up above Pitt. or we trade down a few spots and try to pick up an additional first day pick.
I don't get what makes Gamble that much of a better athlete than most of the other top 10 CB/WR prospects. Is it because he went both ways? Played for OSU? His size is no big deal, and I haven't seen his combine #s, but I bet they don't particularly stand out. If we take him or Tommie Harris, I'll be pissed. DeAngelo Hall seems like a workout warrior. Whenever I saw VaTech play, he didn't really stand out at all. But if you want a better athlete with "upside," and a legitimate return man, I'd take Hall anyday over Gamble. Gallery would be gone by our pick, but he sounds like one of the safest picks. It'll be interesting to see who we get. Basically Eli, Ben R., Fitz, and Gallery will be gone. It'll be interesting to see how 5-8 go. Damn I hope someone takes Harris before we do.
I also think Harris will be gone by the time we pick but would not be upset if we did get him, I still think he has 3-4 DE written all over him, I could also see Big Ben falling if as in past years teams get Dline happy and the Wideouts begin to come off the board early. You've got three guys who fit the prototypical new age wideouts in the NFL and the talent level to be early picks, I could see teams taking them before we picked.
Jus realized the Texans have a tackle whose supposed to be damn good in a couple seasons in Seth Wand. With him emerging and moving Pitts to gaurd, our O-line should be good enough........ I hereby put my hat in the Sean Taylor ring!!
