Interesting bit of trivia....Clapp is the first New Orleans native drafted by the Saints since Jesuit HS/Tulane product Tommy Morel in 1969.
Deuce on WWL tonight looking at Davenport's combine numbers compared to Jadaveon Clowney. Put about 8 drills side-by-side, like the 3 cone shuttle, 10 yard burst, standing broad jump...all the stuff that puts numbers on pure athleticism. Every one, the two were virtually identical, with Davenport just a touch better.
Yeah, I heard Davenports numbers were impressive. What no one has really recognized is what all of the Saint's draft picks this year have in common.... measureables. They all either performed phenomenally at the combine, or have outstanding measureable attributes. I don't fully agree w/that, but certainly the Saint's recruiting staff believe in numbers. Sometimes, non-measureables are just as important, like leadership, commitment, work ethic, etc. But, they went all in on stats/measureables this year, for better or for worse. Read about their draft choices combines, or 40 times, bench presses, etc. All of their draft choices had impressive stats in some category.
Zach Streif made the same point around the 5th round or so, that every pick is noted for his athleticism. I always hate when I see guys who do little on the field go shooting up the draft charts because of their combine workout, but these guys all produced on the field. I don't think there were any bad picks.
Those traits are great to have but even better when players who have a history of doing it on the field and also are combine freaks have them. There have been little known players who have wowed them at the combine who have become very good pro players. D.J Chark shot up on the big boards because of his combine performance. The aggregate of his college stats wouldn't get him noticed. I don't know how well Will Clapp performed at the combine but I had projected him to go no lower than the 4th round. With his versatility and smarts he could stick around the league for a long time. I hope it's with the Saints.
More often unknown players who make a splash at the combine don't make it in the pros. Combine numbers are meaningless if you can't do it with pads on against another player who's trying to stop you.
